List of heads of state of the Comoros

Not to be confused with President of Grande Comore.

This article lists the heads of state of the Comoros, since the country gained independence from France in 1975.

President of the Union of the Comoros
National Seal
Incumbent Azali Assoumani since 3 April 2019
Term length	5 years, renewable once.
Inaugural holder	Ahmed Abdallah (State of the Comoros; First president of the Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros) Ali Soilih (State of the Comoros; First president) Azali Assoumani (Union of the Comoros)
Formation	27 October 1977
Succession	Line of succession
Deputy	Abolished, Vice-President of the Comoros
Salary	53,557,291 Comorian francs/117,060 USD annually[1]

Term limits

A new constitution, approved in the 2018 constitutional referendum allows the president to run for two consecutive five-year terms. Previously during the time of Union of the Comoros, there was a one-term rotational system in place to share the presidency between Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli.^[2]

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Title	Term of office			Political party
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
/ • State of the Comoros (État Comorien)
1		Ahmed Abdallah (1919–1989)	President of the Government (until 7 July 1975) Head of State	6 July 1975	3 August 1975	28 days	UDC
2		Said Mohamed Jaffar (1918–1993)	Chairman of the National Council of the Revolution (until 10 August 1975) Chairman of the National Executive Council	3 August 1975	3 January 1976	153 days	RDPC
3		Ali Soilih (1937–1978)	Head of State (until 28 October 1977) President	3 January 1976	13 May 1978	2 years, 130 days	RDPC
4		Said Atthoumani	Chairman of the Politico-Military Directorate	13 May 1978	23 May 1978	10 days	Independent
// • Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros (République fédérale islamique des Comores) (Jumhuriyat al-Qumur al-Itthadiyah al-Islamiyah)
–		Ahmed Abdallah & Mohamed Ahmed (1919–1989) (1917–1984)	Co-Chairmen of the Politico-Military Directorate (until 22 July 1978) Co-Chairmen of the Directorate	23 May 1978	3 October 1978	133 days	UDC
(1)		Ahmed Abdallah (1919–1989)	Chairman of the Directorate (until 25 October 1978) President	3 October 1978	26 November 1989 †	11 years, 54 days	UDC
–		Said Mohamed Djohar (1919–2006) Acting	Acting President	27 November 1989	20 March 1990	113 days	UDC
5		Said Mohamed Djohar (1919–2006)	President	20 March 1990	29 September 1995	5 years, 193 days	UCP
6		Combo Ayouba (c. 1952–2010)	Coordinator of the Transitional Military Committee	29 September 1995	2 October 1995	3 days	Military
–		Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim & Said Ali Kemal Acting (1936–1998) (1938–2020)	Acting President	2 October 1995	5 October 1995	3 days	National Union for Democracy (Comoros) Party of Unity and Fraternity of the Islands
–		Caabi El-Yachroutu Mohamed (born 1949) Acting	Interim President	5 October 1995	26 January 1996	113 days	RDR
(5)		Said Mohamed Djohar (1919–2006)	President	26 January 1996	25 March 1996	59 days	RDR
6		Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim (1936–1998)	President	25 March 1996	6 November 1998 †	2 years, 226 days	RDR
–		Tadjidine Massounde (1933–2004) Acting	Interim President	6 November 1998	30 April 1999	175 days	Independent
7		Colonel Azali Assoumani (born 1959)	Chief of Staff of the National Development Army (until 6 May 1999) Head of State	30 April 1999	23 December 2001	2 years, 237 days	Military
• Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores) / الاتحاد القمر (dzima wa Komori)
(7)		Colonel Azali Assoumani (born 1959)	Head of State	23 December 2001	21 January 2002	29 days	Military
–		Hamada Madi (born 1965) Acting [3]	Interim President	21 January 2002	26 May 2002	125 days	Republican Party (Comoros)
(7)		Azali Assoumani (born 1959)	President	26 May 2002	26 May 2006	4 years	CRC
8		Ahmed Sambi (born 1958)	President	26 May 2006	26 May 2011	5 years	Independent
9		Ikililou Dhoinine (born 1962)	President	26 May 2011	26 May 2016	5 years	Baobab Movement
(7)		Azali Assoumani (born 1959)	President	26 May 2016	13 February 2019	2 years, 263 days	CRC
–		Moustadroine Abdou (born 1969) Acting	Interim President	13 February 2019	3 April 2019	49 days	CRC
(7)		Azali Assoumani (born 1959)	President	3 April 2019	Incumbent	5 years, 211 days	CRC

Timeline

Succession

Article 58^[4] of the Comorian Constitution states that "in case of absolute absence of a President" the following should happen:

• If the absence (death, resignation, etc.) should occur within the first 900 days of the term, the cabinet ministers and other members of the government select among the ministers a "main minister" to serve as Interim President. Elections must also be called in no more than 60 days after the absence of the President occurs; the person who wins those elections will be president for the remainder of the original five-year presidential term.
• If the absence should occur beyond the first 900 days of the term, then the Governor of the island currently holding the presidency will assume the presidency until the end of the original five-year presidential term, at which point regular elections are held.

Latest election

Main article: 2019 Comorian presidential election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Azali Assoumani	Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros	96,635	60.77
	Mahamoud Ahamada	Independent	23,233	14.61
	Mouigni Baraka Saïd Soilihi	Independent	8,851	5.57
	Mohamed Ali Soilihi	Union for the Development of the Comoros	6,110	3.84
	Hamidou Karihila	Independent	3,880	2.44
	Fahmi Said Ibrahim	Independent	3,782	2.38
	Hassani Hamadi	Independent	3,576	2.25
	Saïd Larifou	Independent	3,368	2.12
	Achmet Saïd	Independent	3,326	2.09
	Ibrahim Ali Mzimba	Independent	2,185	1.37
	Ali Mhadji	Independent	1,484	0.93
	Said Djaffar Elmacely	Independent	1,474	0.93
	Salim Saadi	Independent	1,104	0.69
Total			159,008	100.00
Valid votes			159,008	95.53
Invalid/blank votes			7,439	4.47
Total votes			166,447	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			309,137	53.84
Source: CENI

See also

• Politics of the Comoros
• List of sultans on the Comoros
• List of colonial governors of the Comoros
• List of prime ministers of the Comoros
• Vice-President of the Comoros

References

1. "The highest and lowest paid African presidents – Business Daily". Business Daily. 27 December 2020.
2. Cook, Candace; Siegle, Joseph. "Circumvention of Term Limits Weakens Governance in Africa". Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
3. Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Central Intelligence Agency. 2003. hdl:2027/osu.32435083447862.
4. "L'intégralité du projet de révision de la constitution de l'Union des Comores". Al-watwan – Le premier journal des Comores. 10 November 2023.

External links

• World Statesmen – Comoros